Nobody to Somebody, Somebody to Nobody
by The Switching Expert
Summary: After waking up in his nemesis's body, Gumball naturally wants to go back to normal as soon as possible. Rob, however, isn't in a rush to leave behind the kind of life he had always wanted. Hopefully, Darwin and the rest of his friends can look past his appearance and see the blue cat trapped inside. (I do not own TAWOG or anyone in it. This story is cross-posted from Quotev.)
1. Chapter 1

When Gumball opened his eye that morning, he didn't see Anais's top bunk above him.

He didn't see Darwin sleeping next to him in his cramped fishbowl.

He didn't see his computer. Or... Anything familiar, really. In fact, the room Gumball was in reminded him of the room he and Darwin lived in when they became adults thanks to a screw-up. Was it all actually real?! Was Anais busting in looking like a Mexican wrestler just a dream?!

... Actually, that did sound pretty crazy. There's definitely a possibility that he dreamt it, but then again, there's been plenty of other weird things that happened before that. Sitting up, he began to rub the sleep from his eye and try to get his thoughts together.

Hold on. Eye? Wasn't it supposed to be 'eyes'? Curiously, Gumball decided to try to wink... But was met with pitch blackness. Weird. Maybe if he tried the other one... Nope. It was as if he only had control over one eye in general.

After numerous other attempts, he finally came to a horrifying conclusion. He really did only have one eye.

Did someone take his eye or something?! What kind of crazy person would take a kid's eye and leave the other one?! Sure, eyepatches are cool, but not when you have one for a REASON!

"O-okay, Gumball... Don't panic... You're alone in a weird place and you don't know how you got here... Ignore the fact that you sound like a high school dropout and try to find Darwin,"

In a single motion, Gumball leapt out of the rather uncomfortable bed (was it even a bed?) he had woken up in only to stumble a bit upon landing on his feet. Since when was he so tall? Or did the world get small?

Nah, he definitely became taller. In fact, he must have grown at least three feet overnight... Okay, maybe that was an exaggeration. It was way taller than Gumball's real height though.

After tripping over his own feet a few times while adjusting to this new height, the teen decided to explore the strange place he was in. Maybe if he looked hard enough, he'd find some answers! Or maybe he'd find Darwin! Or Anais!

And so began the exploration. It was actually pretty dark... And cold... And cluttered with boxes... And it smelled like musty furniture mixed with old people smell.

After eventually finding a string connected to a light on the ceiling and turning it on, Gumball could see why his 'bed' was so uncomfortable. What he had been sleeping on was felty old sofa that looked older than Granny JoJo, which was covered in plastic (probably to preserve it or something). It also seemed like the blankets were actually newspapers that went back as far as last year. Maybe longer. So, that might explain why the place smelled like an antique store. In fact, the musty scent reminded him of one specific next door neighbor's house...

That's when Gumball began to freak out even more. It made sense why there was old people stuff in the room now! He was in Mr. Robinson's house! Was he in a basement or something? It would make sense since it was so cold and didn't really have any windows. But how did he end up here in the first place?! Did he get kidnapped?! What was going to happen to him?! Without realizing, Gumball had backed into a dresser, which was caked in dust from years of neglect. And he could see why. The thing was seriously tacky. No wonder the Robinsons kept the thing out of sight. Yet, in the dresser's mirror, a vaguely familiar form was deflecting back. Gumball couldn't exactly make it out, as the mirror was covered in dust as well. So, using a hand, he brushed away the layer of dust obscuring his reflection only to see...

Rob.

The moment Gumball saw what was reflected back at him, he could see Rob's static turn blue as he became more and more panicked. Wasn't that what happened when he became scared? Because the teen was absolutely terrified. Deciding to test to see if he was imagining this, Gumball took his index finger, held it up in front of the middle of his eye, and poked right in the center. Gumball could see the reflection do the same before he yelped in pain and covered his eye. Well, this wasn't a dream. And unless the dresser was a magical trick mirror, he had suddenly become his arch nemesis overnight. It only took a glimpse of his now-static arm after recovering to confirm his situation.

He was Rob.

Naturally, he began screaming like a little girl.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!"

Eventually, he ran out of breath and began gasping for air. This couldn't be happening. This SHOULDN'T be happening! It was fine on Halloween when it was fixed with ghost magic or whatever, but this WASN'T Halloween! The ghost potion thing wouldn't work without being dragged into the spirit world. So, HOW DID THIS HAPPEN?!

Gumball curled up onto the floor, shaking as he tried to regain his composure. "Okay, Gumball... You're stuck in your nemesis's body inside your mean neighbor's basement and you don't know why. Your voice didn't stay the same because ghost magic can't happen this time of year. When people look at you, they'll see Rob. But... But everything will be fine! I just have to find Darwin, prove that I'm Gumball, and we can both try to fix this! Yeah! Everything will be fine! I should probably stop talking because it feels really weird to speak in Rob's voice!" Gumball announced to himself happily, feeling a shiver go up his spine as he heard his voice. This'll get some getting used to...

It was then that Gumball heard a distinct grumbling sound.

Seemed like he spent so much time freaking out that he noticed how hungry he was. At least that was something about this body that was familiar.

"Since I'm technically living with Mr. Robinson... I guess everything here is free for the taking... Well. As long as I don't get caught," Gumball reasoned, then glanced to the steps leading upstairs.

Slowly walking up the steps from the basement, Gumball began listening carefully to see if either Robinson was near the basement door.

Nothing. Good to go.

"Doors squeak a ton when you open them slowly... Maybe if I open it quickly, I won't make any sound!" the former cat deduced. What followed was him kicking the door open, which caused it to smash into one of the pictures hung up while also making a dent in the wall. Whoops.

Maybe if he closes it again, they wouldn't notice. With this logic in play, he shut the door to see the damage done.

... Yeah, they'll have to call a carpenter to fix this. Whatever. Time to get something to eat. It wasn't the first time Gumball had been in Mr. Robinson's house, so finding the kitchen was easy. After sauntering into the kitchen and opening the refrigerator, he began to look around to see what was on the menu.

Well, most of the stuff he preferred wasn't in there. Not that he was surprised about that. Old people normally don't have anything that would satisfy a thirteen year old. Closing the door, Gumball began to think. Maybe... Maybe he could order something! But what to pay with..? Seeing as Rob was living in Mr Robinson's basement seemingly without the guy knowing, the teen concluded that he didn't have much if not any money. Mr. Robinson, on the other hand...

Pretty sure he wouldn't mind if some of his money went missing. After all, he might not even notice, right? But then another problem presented itself: There's no way that his neighbor would just leave his wallet at home if he were going out somewhere. But didn't Mrs. Robinson have a purse or something? And she's usually home, right?

... Oh. If that were the case, she might have heard him when Gumball kicked open the door. And heard him scream before that. His worries were soon confirmed when he heard a familiar, "MEMEME?!"

There stood his neighbor's wife with an expression of both surprise and anger. As her face was getting even more furious, she began approaching Gumball, who was frantically thinking of what to do. As far as he knew, he was as good as DEAD. Without a second thought, he grabbed a cutting board that had been on a counter and swung it at Mrs. Robinson, smacking her right across the face. The lady then fell to the floor, groaning out, "Me...Me...Me..." before losing consciousness. It was then that Gumball took in what he had just done. "Oh man oh man oh man oh man I just hit Mr. Robinson's wife across the face with a cutting board... Well, he might actually be fine with that, but this is still REALLY bad..." the teen whispered as he placed the cutting board back onto the counter. After pacing around nervously, Gumball had an idea. Scooping up the unconscious Mrs. Robinson in his arms, he hurried upstairs to what had to be the bedroom. He then set her down, pulled the covers away, tossed her in the bed, and flung the covers over her.

There. It was all a dream. Nobody was here. Everything was going to be fine. Taking some deep breaths in order to calm himself, Gumball glanced over at the clock on the nightstand. 11 AM. Mr. Robinson wouldn't be home for a while and who knows how long his wife would be out. So, his original plan was still good to go. All he had to do was find her purse, take some money out, and order a pizza or something.

And so, after making his way downstairs, Gumball began his search... Which didn't really last long, seeing as the purse was hanging up next to the door. The former cat knew that this was wrong on so many levels, but honestly, he's done much worse.

After fishing out a few twenties from the purse, Gumball hung it back up and began looking for a phone. He doubted that Rob would keep his own phone unlocked and there's no way he knew what his password would me. Fortunately, he managed to find a rather old fashioned phone in the kitchen. So, that was a good sign. And the number for the pizza delivery was pretty much branded into his brain after countless times when his family wasn't in the mood to cook. "Hello, thank you for calling Fervidus Pizza! How may I help you?" the all-too familiar workaholic, Larry, answered.

"Yeah, I'd like a large quarter pepperoni, quarter sausage, quarter cheese, one slice with every cheese you have, and the last slice with nothing on it."

There was silence on the other end.

"U-um... Okay. And where will this be delivered to?"

Gumball was about to answer, but then remembered that he wasn't at his own address. What was Mr. Robinson's address again..? "Hang on a sec, Larry," Gumball replied, setting the phone down and walking to the front door. Usually, he would have to reach for the doorknob. But now that he was Rob, that wasn't really an issue anymore. So that's one upside.

After making his way outside, Gumball was about to peek over to the address when he saw a rare sight. His dad was walking outside! He wasn't really sure why, but that was a really special occurrence to see! Without thinking, Gumball waved and called out, "Hey, Dad! What're you doing outside?"

What resulted was a confused look from the large adult as he turned to Gumball. "I have another son..?" He asked himself as he studied him. Realizing his mistake, the cat-turned-cyclops quickly tried to backtrack, "O-oh! Sorry about that! I thought—,"

"Well, if you're my long lost son, then what're you doing over there? Come on over here, kiddo! I need to know where you've been all these years!"

Gumball honestly was really surprised at his father's sudden acceptance of the thought that Rob could be his son... Then again, maybe he shouldn't be too surprised. This WAS his dad, after all. With a bright smile, Gumball walked over to his house, thankful that he could be back inside the place where he recognized as home with his dad. Plus, nobody was home to correct him!

As soon as they were inside, Gumball's dad crossed his arms. "Now, before anything, let's get you something to eat! You're practically skin and bones! And no son of MINE is gonna be hungry!" he announced, directing Gumball to the kitchen. With a smile, the teen nodded and made his way past the dining room to the kitchen. Upon opening it, there was one thing that caught his eye. The Chinese food from last night! Most specifically, his. Taking it out, he leaned out of the room and showed it to his dad, "Is it okay if I have this?"

"Well, that's your brother, Gumball's. But I'm pretty sure he wouldn't mind since it's for his long lost brother!" he replied, "You can put it on a plate and heat it up in the microwave."

His dad was right about half of that. He'd be thrilled about a new brother for him and Darwin to make a trio, but he'd be pretty upset if his rice orange chicken was all gone. After heating it up to the point of it steaming, Gumball sat down at his usual spot with his dad sitting in his own after stacking up a huge plate of sandwiches. Once he noticed where his 'long lost son', a laugh soon followed, "Wow, what a coincidence! You decided to have Gumball's leftovers and now you're in his seat! You two will definitely get along perfectly!"

"Heh... Yeah," Gumball replied before taking a bite of his leftovers. He probably would get along with himself. Because he was... Well, himself. And that's just another level of narcissism.

To his own surprise, Gumball had actually finished BEFORE his dad. Was he really that hungry? Or—was Rob really that hungry? Okay, if he continued that train of thought, he'd feel seriously awkward. "Wow, that's a new Watterson record for how fast someone could finish before me!" Mr. Watterson exclaimed, "Thaaat's my boy!"

Gumball couldn't help but laugh. Both because of his dad's fast acceptance and familiar cheerfulness as well as the thought of Rob seriously being his brother.

The entire time Gumball was at his house, his dad would ask all sorts of questions, like his favorite color or junk food. He kept insisting that he should eat more, but for some reason, he was already full despite having only the rest of his half of leftovers. So, Gumball now knew that Rob wasn't really a big eater, but was fast with eating his meals. This information wasn't really useful, but hey. Know thy enemy.

"So, son. Will you be moving in to stay with us?"

Gumball almost said yes before he stopped himself. If he were to stay, then he would be forced out of his own house because of him being Rob. The moment his mom gets back from work and siblings get back from school, he'd be in trouble. Sadly, Gumball shook his head. "Sorry, dad. But I have my own home that I can't leave yet until I, uh... Pay back my landlords. In fact, I have to go," he 'admitted' sadly, "But I promise that I'll visit whenever I can!"

As expected, Mr. Watterson was disappointed, but gave warm a smile once again, "Well, whenever you come over, be sure to stay longer! We have a lot of catching up to do!"

With a nod, Gumball left, hurrying down the sidewalk and waited for his dad to close the door before making a u-turn for his neighbor's house. After all, Rob probably lived there like he used to in their own house. And even though this information was much more valuable, he wouldn't risk the possibility of getting on Mr. Robinson's bad side even more after this crazy thing blew over.

After making his way inside and shutting the door, Gumball returned to the basement, where he made sure to hide any sort of indication that the basement door had been opened. Once he was successfully 'home', he took a good look at where he would be living until this blew over... And there was no way he was going to go through this and sleep on a sofa covered in plastic. He had standards and even though he might be helping his enemy by doing this, he was going shopping tomorrow. For now, he was going to deal with it JUST THIS ONCE. And while he could be going out to do this already since it was only 2 PM, the former cat honestly wanted to have time to himself to get his emotions together. Besides, the whole thing might just blow over tomorrow. For now, Gumball was going to arrange this room to be acceptable for his needs, then turn off the light before Mr. Robinson comes home. Maybe during that time, he could try to figure out Rob's phone password.

—

"Um... Hello? Sir? Are you still there? ... I've been waiting for quite a long time now, and it's against company policy to hang up on a customer..."


	2. Chapter 2

"WHY WERE YOU ORDERING A PIZZA WITHOUT ASKING WHAT I WANTED ON IT?! AND WHY DID YOU JUST LEAVE TO GO TO SLEEP IN THE MIDDLE OF IT?!"

"MEMEMEMEMEMEMEMEMEH!"

"SO YOU SAW A WEIRD LOOKING KID IN THE KITCHEN AND HE KNOCKED YOU OUT WITH THE CUTTING BOARD?! THAT'S THE WORST EXCUSE I HAVE EVER HEARD FROM YOU!"

"MEMEMEMEMEMEMEH!"

"NOW YOU'RE ASKING ME WHAT HAPPENED TO THE MONEY IN YOUR PURSE?! MAYBE I SHOULD ASK YOU WHAT HAPPENED TO ALL THE BREAD AND BUTTER!"

"MEMEMEMEMEMEMEMEMEMEH!"

"DON'T YOU SAY THAT AND WALK AWAY FROM ME! GET BACK HERE, MARGRET!"

Groaning, Gumball covered his head with newspapers in a futile attempt to block out the arguing from his neighbors. Sure, he knew that they had a hate-love relationship, but he never knew just how loud their arguments could be. It was already past when he usually went to sleep, too. While Rob's body wasn't sleepy at all, Gumball was absolutely mentally exhausted.

Glancing over to the butter and bread that he had 'borrowed' (along with silverware), the teen decided that maybe having something before bed would make his nemesis's body sleepy.

Even though the room was dark, his eye was apparently able to see in the darkness slightly better than usual when his vision adjusted, seeing how he could see just well enough in the pitch blackness to make himself a sandwich. It also made sense about how Rob managed to actually live in his own basement without them noticing for who knows how long.

The butter was fortunately not too melty thanks to the chilly basement, but Gumball knew that he had to find something to store it in regardless. With that in mind, he finished making four separate sandwiches and set aside the two food items on top of the tacky dresser.

As Gumball ate his 'dinner', a thought suddenly appeared in his head. If he were Rob, then... Was Rob him? The idea of it caused the former cat to wince. If that were the case, then that would be seriously violating. Then again, him being Rob might be violating the cyclops as well. After shaking the horrifying thought out of his head, he quickly finished what was left of the sandwiches and returned to laying down on the sofa. He definitely felt sleepy now, so hopefully he could drown out the argument and get some shuteye.

... And hopefully this would be over.

—

It was hard to tell what time Gumball awoke the next morning. The basement was still as dark as it usually was and with no clocks anywhere, he might as well have slept until noon. Groggily leaning himself up from the sofa, Gumball rubbed the sleep out of his eye, yawning. From what he knew, Rob didn't go to school anymore nor did he have a family, so that meant Gumball was free to do whatever he wanted. Which was definitely a big plus for him, since he was going to make his 'home' more suitable for long term... He hated thinking of this being long term, but it was obvious that it would take a while to fix. Plus, he enjoys the finer things rather than not. Rob might not really care about frivolities, but so long as Gumball was the one staying here, this place was not meeting his own standards.

Once he made sure nobody was around, he left the basement (more carefully this time) and surveyed the area.

It... Was actually still dark out. He had to have gone to sleep at around 11 or so (he usually went to slept at 10 on school days), so why was it so dark? Well, when you don't know the time, ask a clock... Figuratively.

Tiptoeing to the kitchen to read the digital clock on the microwave, it instantly made sense. The time that was revealed before him indicated that it was 5:30 in the morning. "So, Rob sleeps late and gets a maximum of six hours of sleep... No wonder he's so grumpy all the time," Gumball murmured as he left the kitchen to the front door.

Before he took ahold of the doorknob, Gumball went through just what he was planning on getting. It was then that the teen realized that hadn't exactly done the math. A few twenties weren't going to get him the things he needed to satisfy his needs. He'll need something else. Something with a near unlimited amount of money.

Something that you could carry everywhere.

Yep. He was going there. After checking around in a few of Mr. Robinson's coats, Gumball couldn't exactly find what he was looking for. That is, until he opened a compartment on the shelf next to the door. There, tucked away in the back of it, was Mr. Robinson's wallet.

As soon as Gumball flipped through it and found his neighbor's credit card, he didn't really need the twenties anymore. And if Mr. Robinson needed to get groceries, he wouldn't be able to with such little cash on him. Might as well put the twenties in his wallet so he could have some money on him. Once he made sure that all of the bills were in the wallet, Gumball placed it back inside the drawer where it was and shut it as quietly as possible.

He wasn't sure if the mall would be open this early in the morning, but he might as well just hang around it until it does. So, time to get a bike or something and—

Oh right. Rob didn't have a bike. Or a tricycle. Or a unicycle. Well, the bus was always the next best thing for a broke nemesis. After all, that was the guy's main source of transportation as far as Gumball knew. With a deep breath, he began his trek to the bus stop, fishing out whatever change Rob had left in his pockets.

Fortunately, the buses in Elmore didn't demand too much in terms of fees. So judging by what was in his pockets, Gumball had about three or so rides. Maybe if he really nailed the whole panhandler look while sitting on the side of the road, he'd get more...

—~—

For once, Rob actually had a good night's sleep. Normally, he wouldn't care if an annoying alarm clock was buzzing next to him and he'd get up without much trouble. But now? Now he wanted to smash the thing to bits so that he could fall back asleep. "Can you shut it off..? I think we know now that we have to get ready for school," Gumball's half-brother, Darwin, groaned next to him as he stepped out of his small fishbowl.

School. Right. He hadn't really had to care much about it since he dropped out. But it wasn't like he wanted to drop out. Planning to destroy the bane of your existence takes a pretty big chunk of your time.

"Gumball, can you turn it off already?"

"It's R—,"

Rob stopped himself before he could correct Gumball's younger sister. That's right... He was Gumball. His arch nemesis. His most hated adversary. And the two that were with him at the moment were his enemy's siblings. Or... His siblings? It was strange to think about.

After successfully shutting off the alarm clock (he wasn't sure if he pressed snooze instead or not), Rob followed Darwin's example and pushed himself off of the bed. "You do know that you could have turned it off yourself," he stated flatly to Darwin, who shrugged in return as he responded, "You usually do it, so I didn't want to ruin the routine."

Well, that made sense in its own weird way. If Rob wanted to keep up appearances, he'd have to really memorize this new schedule. He might have been diligent on taking note of Gumball's schedule outside of his private life, but this was going to be different.

"Y'know, Gumball, you were acting a little weird yesterday," Darwin began thoughtfully as the three of them exited the bedroom and steadily eased into the dining room, "I mean, you were being all reclusive and stuff. You wouldn't even hang out with me. And that hurts, man!"

"I agree with Darwin. It really was strange. Especially because you weren't bothering anyone else during that time," the younger sibling added, which made Rob to sigh. "Your point?"

"The point is that you've been really out of character, I guess. Did you and Penny get into an argument or something?" the goldfish asked. Penny... Who was Penny again? Oh right, it was Gumball's girlfriend. Rob vaguely remembered her from his time in school, but they weren't exactly close. If she was crazy enough to be Gumball's girlfriend, then she'll probably be ALMOST annoying to deal with. But that was the least of Rob's problems at the moment. If the fact that he wasn't as social was causing the two siblings to be suspicious, then he needed to get out of his comfort zone before they and the rest of Gumball's family and friends realized what was going on.

After sitting down at the dining room table, Rob and the rest of his 'siblings' were greeted by Mrs. Watterson—or, should she be called 'Mom'? Nah. That's getting too familiar. "Good morning kids! How'd you sleep?" the older cat asked as she set out bowls of cereal for each of them, to which Darwin happily responded, "I slept good, Miss Mom! Thanks for asking!"

In return, Mrs. Watterson smiled at goldfish's energetic reply, then sat down in her own seat at the table. It was then that Mr. Watterson arrived from the kitchen with a massive plate of breakfast items, happily humming to himself as he took his own seat. This seemed to catch his wife's attention. "Well, you seem to be in a good mood today, Richard. Did something happen?"

"You mean I didn't tell you guys?" Richard replied, genuinely surprised as his family (and Rob) shook their heads. It wouldn't really be the first time he had forgotten to mention something important, so it wasn't exactly out of the ordinary. Seeing as an explanation was in order, Mr. Watterson gave his family a proud grin as he crossed his arms, "Well, I'll have you know that my long lost son came to visit yesterday!"

It was silent as those words were processed. It was only after a good few seconds that Mrs. Watterson spoke up, "Richard, you don't have a 'long lost son'. The only kids you have are right here."

To make a point, she gestured to the equally confused children at the table. Her husband, however, remained adamant, "I might not know much, but if I know anything, then the kid I saw yesterday is my long lost son! I can guarantee it!"

It was Mrs. Watterson's turn to cross her arms. "Okay then. What was his name?" she questioned, intently studying her husband's face as he opened his mouth to reply, then slowly went deep into thought. "Hm... You know, I don't think I got his name. But he liked Gumball's leftovers, that's for sure! Finished them faster than I could finish my own lunch!" Richard exclaimed with a laugh. It was then that Rob noticed that Mrs. Watterson's calm composition was beginning to crack slightly. "So, if I'm hearing this correctly... You let a complete stranger inside of the house because you thought they were a son you never had, fed them your actualson's food, and let them leave despite not even finding out who they really were?"

"Well, that's a pretty harsh way of putting it, but that sums it up, I guess!"

Naturally, he older cat's palm met her own face as she let out a deep groan, "Okay. I'm sure I'm not the only one who knows that it's too early for this sort of stuff. Let's continue this conversation after I get off of work. And Richard, don't you even consider letting that kid into the house again unless we know more about who he is."

With a sad nod, Mr. Watterson sighed with a dejected look on his face as his wife drank the rest of her coffee and left the room. This left an opening for Darwin and the younger sister to begin talking amongst each other.

"Who do you think it is, Anais?"

"I don't know. It's probably not anyone we know too well, which makes me even more uncomfortable..."

Rob decided to join in (he figured that he needed to in order to ease any suspicions of his reclusiveness), "Think we should ask... Dad... What he looked like?"

Anais blinked, then replied with a grin, "Wow. That's not too bad of an idea for once. But we should ask Dad once he's done feeling depressed, so it might have to be after school since we're leaving in less than an hour."

Well, that made sense. And honestly, Rob didn't even have to act about his own curiosity as to who this person was.

—

"MEMEMEMEMEMEMEMEMEH!"

"I TOLD YOU ONCE AND I'LL TELL YOU AGAIN, MARGRET, I DIDN'T PUT YOUR MONEY IN MY WALLET!"

"MEMEMEMEMEH!"

"DON'T ACT LIKE YOU HAVEN'T DONE IT IN THE PAST AS WELL! I WASN'T EVEN GOING TO TAKE YOUR MONEY TODAY! I WAS GOING TO DO THAT NEXT WEEK!"

"MEMEMEMEMEMEH!"

"OH, IF THAT'S THE CASE, THEN MAYBE YOU COULD TELL ME WHERE MY CARD WENT!"


End file.
